A Part of Growing Up (A One-Shot)
by xSunnyEclipse
Summary: A one-shot about Lincoln forgetting to bring Bun Bun to college with him.


**A/N: Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm so sorry for that. I've had a lot of focus on college lately and less motivation to write. However, I was inspired to write a simple one-shot based off something that happened to me just in the eyes of Lincoln. Enjoy!**

* * *

Vanzilla pulled up to the Casagrande Apartment Building, as Lincoln (now age 18), walked out of the car with his parents. They headed towards the door with two suitcases in Lincoln's hands. They made it up the stairs and were greeted by the smiling faces of The Casagrandes.

"Lincoln, you're here!" CJ replied, as he ran over to the teen. Lincoln smiled as he hugged CJ back and bent his knees down to the preteen.

"CJ! It's good to see you buddy!"

"Lincoln! It's so wonderful to see you again!" Rosa walked over to Lincoln. "How was the trip for all of you?"

"Pretty good," Lincoln said with a chuckle, "Can't say the _same_ for my parents."

Lynn Sr grinned. "We're not used to the 3-hour drive yet."

"Lynn almost missed the lane to get here," Rita chuckled.

"Well we're really excited to have Lincoln here," Maria said, "Why don't you come on upstairs dear? Ronnie Anne's been waiting for you."

"Sweet!" Lincoln replied. He looked over to his parents and hugged them.

"Thank you, guys, for letting me do this," Lincoln said.

"No problem," Lynn Sr replied, "We're going to miss you a lot."

"If you ever need us, we're just a phone call away," Rita said, while kissing his forehead. "Take care Lincoln."

"Thanks mom and dad," The teen said, as he watched his parents walk out of the bodega.

Lincoln followed Maria to the kitchen, saw the rest of the family and waved to them. Then, he continued to follow her to a room right across from Ronnie Anne's. It was small, white room with a bed in the middle of it.

Maria lead him inside the room. "We know you'll be going to Great Lakes University in a week, so we've got your room all set for you."

Lincoln walked over to the bed and noticed the color of the sheets. "Wait, wasn't this Bobby's old room?"

She nodded. "Yes, but since him and your sister moved out, we decided to give it to you."

The teen smiled at Maria. "Well, thank you Mrs. Santiago."

"You're very welcome, Lincoln," Maria replied, "Once you're done packing, Grandma Rosa will have a delicious meal for you."

The boy nodded, as he started opening his suitcases. He took out his clothes and placed some in the closet. Then, he heard some footsteps in the distance. Lincoln turned around and saw his girlfriend standing by the doorway.

"Hey Lame-O, you finally made it," Ronnie Anne smirked.

Lincoln walked over to her and kissed her on the head. "Hi sweetie. I'm sorry I'm late."

Ronnie Anne pressed a hand to his face. "Don't worry about it dork. All that matters is that you're here and we're going to the same college."

Lincoln took her hands into his. "I wouldn't trade it for the world."

The girl chuckled. "Man, you and your _silly_ pickup lines. Let's head downstairs before Carl eats all the burritos again."

* * *

After the meal, Ronnie Anne looked at the clock, then at Lincoln. "Hey Linc, how about we _hit the hay?_ " and nudged him on the shoulder.

Lincoln smirked at Ronnie Anne. "Sounds like a plan," And the young couple headed towards Ronnie Anne's room while shutting the door.

Later that night, Lincoln woke up and rubbed his eyes. He looked over to his girlfriend, who was fast asleep by his side. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and got up from the bed. Lincoln grabbed his clothes, opened the door and slowly closed it.

Back in his room, Lincoln put his shirt and pants and continued to unpack. He finished taking everything out of his suitcase, at least everything he thought he had. Lincoln checked both of his suitcases but couldn't find it in either of them. He searched through the closet of clothes, but it wasn't there either. He swore that he didn't bring it into Ronnie Anne's room.

The teenager started to panic, as he continued to search both of his suitcases. Sadly, he still couldn't find it.

Lincoln flopped onto his bed and sighed softy. _How could I have forgotten him?_ He tried to clear his mind and closed his eyes to sleep. He kept daydreaming of Bun Bun and all the memories he had with him. Lincoln always brought Bun Bun everywhere and he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Then, his focus moved over to his phone. _Should I call them? At this hour?_ Lincoln slowly reached for his phone and stared dialing his parents' number.

Back at Royal Woods, Lynn Sr and Rita were fast asleep in their bed. The phone next to them went off and Lynn Sr woke up from it. He grabbed the phone, saw it was Lincoln and answered it.

"Hello? Son?" He said. "Is everything _okay?"_

Lincoln stuttered. "A-Actually..it's _not."_

"What's wrong?"

Lincoln tip-toed out of the bodega and to the outside steps of the building. "Well, I can't sleep tonight because I forgot something."

"Forgot what?" Lynn Sr replied, while rubbing his eyes.

Lincoln stopped for a moment, while slowly sitting down on the stairs. "..Bun Bun."

Lynn Sr dropped his phone by his side as he heard this. The one thing his son called about was his stuffed rabbit? He heard his wife getting up from the phone's light.

"Honey, what's going on?" Rita asked.

"It's Lincoln dear, he forgot to bring Bun Bun with him."

Rita rubbed her eyes. "Here, let me talk to him." And grabbed the phone from him. "Lincoln honey, are you alright?"

Lincoln pressed his hand to his face. "N-Not really mom. I _really_ need Bun Bun."

"Don't you think you're _overreacting?"_

"I'm not! Especially when I can't sleep without him!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Rita sighed. "Honey, I think this is a sign that you're too old for Bun Bun."

"Your mother's right Lincoln," his father said, "We know that Bun Bun's been a security blanket for you, but even Lori left her unicorn behind when she left."

A few tears started dripped down Lincoln's face, "I know that, but I've been trying to sleep for the past hour and I just can't! I've never gone anywhere without Bun Bun."

Lynn Sr sighed as well. "Well Lincoln, do you want us to come to the city and bring Bun Bun to you?"

The boy thought about this for a moment. If they bought Bun Bun to him then he'd be able to sleep. Still, he shook his head. "No, don't do that. Don't waste all that gas on me."

"But this is _really_ affecting you, sweetie." Rita replied, "We could come out there and bring him to you."

"No no, please..." Lincoln wiped the tears away. "I don't want you guys to do that. Heck, I think I am overreacting."

"We understand it's an attachment," his mother said, "but this could be a way to teach you how to grow up. Bun Bun is important to you, but it doesn't mean others can't help you."

Lincoln nodded his head. "You're right, I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to be _sorry,"_ Lynn Sr replied, "I know you how feel, son. When I was 11, I had a stuffed lion named Fluffy. He was my best friend. However, I knew soon enough that I wouldn't need Fluffy anymore. Like Fluffy, your memories with Bun Bun will remain, even if he's not there with you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry guys," he sighed, "I didn't mean to call you..."

"It's okay sweetie, we just wanted to make sure you're okay," Rita said.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Lincoln nodded.

"You sure?" Lynn Sr asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be alright."

"Okay well, we love you dear," his mother said, "Just no more 3 am calls, okay?"

"Okay. Love you too guys," Lincoln chuckled and hung up the phone.

* * *

He headed inside the bodega and up to the living room. There, he noticed a figure sitting on the couch.

"Ronnie Anne!" Lincoln exclaimed. "How long have you been up?"

"For a while," She replied, "I was up getting a slice of grandma's leftover cake and heard you talking to your folks outside."

Lincoln sighed, "I'm sorry. It was just a _stupid_ situation."

The girl got up from the couch and took him by the hand. "I have something to show you." And se lead him to her room. She stopped him, as she went to closet and grabbed something out of it. She turned to Lincoln and showed him a small, stuff cat with spots.

"This is Whiskers. Mom gave me to her when I was a little girl," She cradled it in her arms.

Lincoln looked down at the toy. "You never told me about Whiskers."

Ronnie Anne pressed Whispers up against her chest. "Well, I didn't want anyone to know outside of my family. Whiskers helped me through a lot of hard times when I was going to Royal Woods Elementary." Then, she looked up at Lincoln and handed him the stuffed cat. "I think that you need Whiskers' help now."

The teen took Whiskers from his girlfriend. The stuffed animal felt soft and reminded him of the feeling of holding Bun Bun. However, he smiled as he placed Whiskers on her bed. Ronnie Anne noticed this and looked at him.

"Why'd you do that, Lincoln?"

"I don't think I need a stuffed animal to help me," he replied, as he took her hands, "I've got the most important person in the world to help me."

"Oh Lame-O, you're going to make me turn red," Ronnie Anne blushed.

"It's true though," Lincoln chucked, while pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It's getting late. Why don't we get to bed?"

"You sure you're going to be okay?" She asked him.

"Positive."

"Well, why don't you stay with me for the night?' Ronnie Anne smirked.

"Sounds pretty good to me," Lincoln winked at her, as he joined his girlfriend in her bed.

* * *

 **A/N: Well there's a sweet little one-shot based off a real experience that happened to me. I hope you liked it and I'm hoping to finally get back into writing again!**


End file.
